Marina

Este es el cuarto libro de Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Los tres primeros son novelas "juveniles", de lectura mucho mas ligera, muy buenos!: 1 - El principe de la niebla (Trilogia de La Niebla) 2 - El Palacio de la medianoche (Trilogia de La Niebla) 3 - Las Luces de septiembre (Trilogia de La Niebla) (Spanish Edition) En este libro Carlos nos da una muestra de lo que vendría mas adelante con su quinto libro el cual es el mejor de todos: 5- La Sombra del Viento (Vintage Espanol) (Spanish Edition) Y con el sexto: 6- El Juego del Ángel (Vintage Espanol) (Spanish Edition) Como menciona "Sergio Lira", el libro es un poco mas ligero que las dos novelas posteriores por ser mas corto pero sigue el mismo estilo. Marina es un libro que los fanáticos de Carlos Ruiz Zafón no podemos dejar de leer, es un "page turner" (como dicen en ingles), se los recomiendo!

One of his earliest books. In my opinion one of, if not, the best. All of his books are poignant and captivating stories, but Marina is just perfect.

Marina is Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Shadow of the Wind/La Sombra del Viento)'s first novel. He considers it a children book, but I think children would get nightmares from this book. The first line of the book is "Marina told me that we only remember what never happened". The story occurs in the Barcelona of the Seventies. Thus the strange and fantastic relationship starts between Oscar Drai, a student interned in a prep school, who does not get along with his real father, and thus befriends Marina Blau, and her father Germán at the Sarriá castle. Mr. Blau was an incredible paintor, married to an amazing opera singer who died of a congenital disease. He had Marina as a few years before his wife's death. He stopped painting after that, and in their home you can see multiple paintings of a woman--Diana, Marina's mother. When Oscar takes Marina and her father to the train station to Madrid, Oscar receives a card from a strange lady with the name: Miguel Kolvenik with an address. Curiosity takes the best of young Oscar and he goes to the address. There he meets Benjamin Santis, who was Kolvenik's business partner who informs him that Kolvenik died in 1948. Santis tells the strange story of this man, and the Velo-Granell factory that they owned together and how Kolvenik was an inventor of prosthesis that worked better than anything else in the market. Thus they gets rich and things go well until Kolvenik falls in love with a famous opera singer, Eva Irinova. She was "owned" by a Russian couple who had "adopted" her and Kolvenik buys them out through money and threats. On their wedding day, the Russians spay acid on Irina's face and she is never seen again. meanwhile, Kolvenik dissapears, and their home burns inexplicably and two bodies are found inside embracing each other. Mr. Santis dies under suspicious circumstances and Oscar finds out that a detective had been trying to prove monstrosities were occurring at the Velo-Granell factory. Oscar goes to the old factory and they discover cadavers that are "alive" and very dangerous. Thus an amazing adventure begins, filled with monsters, murders, and the many fabulous love stories. The book is a wonderful read and I think it is almost as good as Zafón's masterpiece: The Shadow of the wind.

Como antecesor a la obra la Sombra del Viento, me parece una obra excelente, narrativa extraordinaria y los personajes justos y bien llevados hasta el final donde adquiere un tono romántico esta gran novela. A mi gusto es más ligera que la Sombra del Viento ya que es más corta pero con el mismo ritmo y estilo de este gran escritor que apasiona a cualquiera. Acaban de editar la última edición en español. No se la pierdan. Muy recomendable !!!

I read The Shadow of the Wind several years ago, and rated it as my favorite novel of the 20th century. I have given copies of it to many friends and relatives. What a wonderful work to share. Ahora acabo de terminar El juego del Ángel, y no se cual es mi favorita, pero estoy seguro de que si Cervantes y Borges pudieran pasar por Barcelona ahora, buscarían La biblioteca de libros olvidados, y seleccionarían....